CONCACAF Champions League Previews: Columbus Crew, Real Salt Lake Open Group Play

The travel and strange stadiums. Quick turnarounds and little-known opposition. Confederation soccer provides enough new challenges to explain why some teams show drastically different results between domestic and “continental” competitions. The Los Angeles Galaxy-Puerto Rico preliminary was this year’s exemplar, though it happens every year. A team like Los Angeles may be in-tune with the challenges of their domestic league, while on the continent they run into a team that has experience with the new elements.

Real Salt Lake has never been in Champions League. That’s not to say they’ll go the way of the Galaxy. After all, Toronto is stringing together results, and their only previous experience in Champions League was losing in the preliminary round to Puerto Rico. Perhaps that’s sufficient experience, but it’s not much more than Real Salt Lake carries into tonight’s match against Árabe Unido.

Much of the talk from RSL’s players and coaches has been about balance. How does Jason Kreis manage resources while competing on multiple fronts? Within the framework of their league, resource management is always a pressing issue, but as Toronto showed last night, it doesn’t not have to be a defining one.

Preki made a number of changes for Cruz Azul’s visit, but rather than let the personnel define the evening, he defined it with the team’s approach. Toronto came out with the requisite energy to compete in this competition, pressuring their visitors all over the pitch and exhibiting an aggression often absent from Champions League’s MLS teams.

Remembering how Real Salt Lake managed last year’s run through the playoffs, its difficult to imagine Kreis starting a team that will “the match unfold.” But since we’ve never seen RSL at this level, we can’t be sure. That’s what new challenges are about. You may think you know a team, but in the face of something they’ve never seen before, they may show a different side of their squad.

Tonight, RSL’s new challenge is Panama’s Árabe Unido. Last year, Árabe made it to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Cruz Azul. As was the case then, their dangerman will be Orlando Rodríguez - a 26-year-old striker who, in addition to being a near goal-per-game man in league, scored three goals in last year’s competition.

One of those goals was in Houston, the last time Árabe was in the United States. Then, the Panamanian club lost 5-1.

The match kicks-off in Utah at 10 p.m. Eastern.

Columbus Crew (United States) versus Municipal (Guatemala)

Columbus is going to have their hands tied for tonight’s match. Robbie Rogers and Brian Carroll are out with injuries. Steven Lenhart’s suspended because of a red card he received in last year’s tournament. New acquisition Andrew Mendoza is actually not new acquisition Andrew Mendoza - he hasn’t been officially added to the roster yet. While Columbus’s depth should allow Robert Warzycha to fill each of those holes, there is a risk this involuntary squad-thinning inhibits the coach’s ability to maintain a balance.

The Crew’s looking to build upon last year’s Champions League performance, where the Supporter’s Shield winners pushed Toluca (5-4) in the quarterfinals. Columbus was also responsible for Major League Soccer’s single best result in Champions League, a win at Estadio Saprissa in Costa Rica.

Municipal missed last year’s Champions League. The year before, they finished at the bottom of their group. As was the case then, Municipal will prominently feature two former Major League Soccer players, Guillermo Ramírez and Mario Rodríguez, the latter making his return to Columbus tonight.

Though coach Warzycha expects the Guatemalan club to play conservatively, Municipal has scored 10 goals in the first four matches of the Liga Nacional season.

The match will kick-off at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Joe Public (Caribbean) versus Santos Laguna (Mexico)

This could end-up being one of the most lopsided results in group play, depending on how serious Santos takes this match. I know I shouldn’t make such bold statements one day after Tottenham Hotspur went to Bern and trailed Young Boys by three within a half hour, but Mexican clubs have dominated this competition. Joe Public, who features veteran internationals in striker Kerry Baptiste and defender Keyeno Thomas, is a poor match-up for the likes of Christian Benítez, Daniel Ludueña, and emerging Colombian Carlos Quintero.

Joe Public and Santos are half of Group B, which also features the Columbus and Municipal. Their match also starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

FAS (El Salvador) versus Toluca (Mexico)

This also has the potential to be lopsided, particularly against an FAS team making their Champions League debut. Joe Public has been in group stage in the past and has had some mild success in the tournament. FAS lacks that pedigree. This is their new challenge.

It’s always dangerous trying to predict who the Mexican sides will play in matches like these, but if Jose Manuel de la Torre plays a full team, the likes of Nestor Calderon, Carlos Esquivel and Hector Mancilla will be potential goal scorers.

Played in Santa Ana, the game starts at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.